Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 70 Li Jie's Tenacity (Please read and collect)
"Kill!"

Just when the enemy and us were fighting fiercely, Liao Lingqi led the regiment's reinforcements to arrive first, which greatly boosted the morale of the officers and soldiers of the first battalion who were fighting hard, and the Japanese began to panic;
Although there were only more than 300 reinforcements, they were fresh troops. The more than 100 brothers in the special forces company were even more vigorous. More than % of them were equipped with submachine guns, which gave them an advantage in close combat.

The hundreds of remnants of the Japanese First Battalion finally couldn't hold on any longer and retreated like a tide. The defenders took advantage of the situation and killed the Japanese, causing them to abandon their armor and weapons and leaving their bodies hundreds of meters away. They only stopped when the Japanese reinforcements arrived.

Although the Japanese sent a battalion of reinforcements, they had lost their fighting spirit and could not gain any advantage by fighting further.

The Japanese captain acted decisively and helped the First Battalion, which had suffered heavy losses, to retreat several hundred meters. The defenders did not dare to continue pursuing them and withdrew to the defense line while taking turns to cover each other, preparing for the next round of attack from the Japanese.

"Bakayalu, you piece of trash! You have brought shame upon the Imperial Army!"

Colonel Muraji Toshio, who was so angry that he swung his arms, slapped Lieutenant Colonel Imaseki Yasuo twice;

Lieutenant Colonel Imazeki had the longest seniority in the 22nd Regiment, and normally Toshio Muraji would have given him some face. However, this time Colonel Muraji was so angry that he had already sent reinforcements. If they could hold on for another quarter of an hour, the Chinese would be defeated.

Lieutenant Colonel Imaseki knew he was in the wrong, and dared not say anything after being slapped twice. However, the second battalion captain took the initiative to step forward and act as a lubricant, saying to Colonel Muraji:
"Your Excellency, the Chinese are equipped with a large number of submachine guns and have a greater number of people than the Imazeki Battalion. This is a draw at best.

The Imperial Army is just testing the waters, while the defenders have already tried their best, even using their last reserve troops. The next round of attack will be their doom."

Colonel Muraji's face looked better now. The 22nd Regiment had always been suppressed by the 12th Regiment in the division, so Colonel Muraji was naturally not convinced.
The 12th Regiment was badly beaten in Lion Grove. If they could break through from the right wing first and then flank the defenders of Lion Grove, the 22nd Regiment would be able to hold their heads high in front of the division commander.

“Imazeki-kun, even though what Yoshida-kun said makes sense, it is not a reason for your defeat;
The defending army has at most one regiment, while you have a battalion. You lost in the hand-to-hand combat that the imperial army is best at. Are you worthy of His Majesty's trust?"

Colonel Murashi even brought out the Emperor, and Lieutenant Colonel Imazeki could only take the two slaps and said shamefully:
"What the commander has taught us is that the shame on the battlefield can only be washed away with blood. Please allow me to lead the Jinguan Brigade to attack once more. I will not withdraw until the Chinese position is broken!"

"Yoshi, it is said that knowing shame will lead to courage. I still have great trust in Imaguan-kun and the warriors of the First Brigade, and I am willing to give you another chance to prove yourselves.

I will ask the division commander to call for reinforcements from the air warriors, and the navy will also give you the greatest artillery support. The rest is up to you. I believe that the Imazeki Battalion will not let His Majesty down."

Murashi brought up Yuhito again, which was equivalent to giving a death order to Lieutenant Colonel Imaseki. If they still couldn't take down the Chinese position, they could only be loyal to the emperor.

When Lieutenant Colonel Imuseki heard that there was support from airplanes and naval guns, his confidence suddenly increased. The last round of attack was just a little short of success. This time he was confident that he could defeat the enemy in front of him and avenge his previous defeat.

"Sir, the Lieutenant Commander, the Jinguan Battalion will never let you down again, nor will it bring shame to the Imperial Army. We will not withdraw until we capture the Chinese positions."

Colonel Jin Guanzhong left with murderous intent after saying a harsh word. It is said that it is better to provoke a general than to invite him. Colonel Muraji showed a smug smile on his face. In his opinion, the Chinese military tactics are nothing special.

At the 1st Battalion's position, Li Jie was also in a bad mood. Although they repelled the enemy's attack with the support of the regiment, they also suffered heavy casualties.
However, Colonel Murashige underestimated Li Jie. In fact, he had not yet tried his best. He had held down the third company, the most elite unit of the first battalion, and even the regiment commander Liao Lingqi was deceived by him.

The advantage of leaving 300 reinforcements behind was shown. He led the first and second companies and 150 reinforcements to fight the Japanese to death, suffering more than 160 casualties.

Now he assigned all the remaining 150 reinforcements to the first, second and first reinforcement companies, so he still had three infantry companies on the ground, while the third and machine gun companies continued to be used as reserves. He was facing a whole regiment, so he had to be careful. Although the Japanese had a 3-fold advantage in manpower, their regiment artillery was useless. There were simply countless guns on the river beach, so they could only rely on naval gun support;
The naval guns were powerful, but their hit rate was too low. Plus, the defensive front was only so wide, and the Japs could only deploy a few hundred men at most. Their three companies could easily withstand it.

After the replenishment, the combat effectiveness of the First Battalion was quickly restored. They huddled in the river defense fortifications that had been built in advance and quietly waited for the Japanese attack.

This time the halftime break seemed a little long. The more this time, the more serious Li Jie's expression became. It was obvious that the Japanese were planning a big move.

Sure enough, just after 4 p.m., there was a buzzing sound of aircraft in the sky, and the air defense observation post of the first battalion puffed up his cheeks and blew a series of short anti-aircraft whistles;

The soldiers shrank their bodies again and waited quietly for the Japanese to bomb them. They really didn't have any good way to deal with the big bird in the sky and could only endure it. This was the helplessness of a weak country fighting against an industrial power.

"Boom boom boom..."

"Boom boom boom..."

Rows of bombs fell from the sky, instantly covering the defense area of ​​the first battalion. The river defense works that the government had painstakingly built were destroyed by the bombs, and many soldiers were buried alive in the loose soil.

Even Li Jie's command post was hit by a bomb, but fortunately the concrete on the roof was strong enough and the bomb did not hit the core position, so it escaped the disaster.

"Damn it, are you done yet? Come down and fight me if you dare!"

Li Jie shook off the dust on his body and cursed at the Japanese planes. Obviously, the Japanese planes were not stupid enough to fight him in a one-on-one fight. After dropping the bombs, they left arrogantly, leaving a mess on the ground.

Li Jie was about to go out to fight off the Japanese, but just as he stuck his head out, he heard the sound of the ship's cannon shells breaking through the air. He immediately shrank back in fear and cursed:
"Damn it, come again!"

No matter how much he was scolded, he lowered his head faster than anyone else. It was not enough to just be stubborn when fighting against the Japanese.

The threat posed by the Japanese naval guns is even greater than that posed by aerial bombardment. Their main guns are all larger than 120mm in diameter. No one within a radius of meters will be left alive if they are hit by one of their guns. They will either be killed by the blast fragments or die from the shock that shatters their internal organs. Their only hope is their strong character.

Rows of shells rained down, and the First Battalion once again endured inhumane devastation. It was unknown how many people never walked out of the fortifications, silently leaving the world and becoming one with the warm land they guarded...

Li Jie's heart had long been hardened by the enemy's artillery fire. Although his eyes were filled with sadness, his will was harder than steel. As long as he was not dead, he would fight to the death!
"The Japs are charging at us, and you're still breathing while fighting them with me!"

Li Jie roared, picked up his submachine gun and rushed out of the command center. He never hid in the command center to fight.

The densely packed Japanese troops on the riverbank flooded over like the river water, and Li Jie's submachine gun fired again;

His gunshot was the order, and a new round of life-and-death struggle began...

(End of this chapter)